Reptile & Amphibian Forums

ok, for the last few months ive been trying to get my 3 toed to eat something other than the prepared food ive been feeding her. long story short, im trying to fix mistakes ive made on some bad information over the years. ive tried raspberries, several kinds of lettuce, peas, broccoli, apples, all kinds of things. ive even tried soaked milkbones, & so far the only thing ive even gotten slight reaction to is cantaloupe (her fave by far.) i cant get her to eat anything, even after sprinkling the prepared food she likes on top to try to hide the rest. im beginning to think im fighting a losing battle, & i dont like thinking im starving her. help?

have you tried earthworms? they love 'em.
you should also try to throw some greens in there. good for them.

keep trying is all I can tell you. sometimes it takes a loooong time. just when you are ready to give up, they'll take a bite! I've had to find new ways to fool them into eating new things using something that they like. try rubbing some mashed canteloupe & juice onto the new food, etc.

Mick
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"When tyranny and oppression come to this land, it will be in the guise of fighting a foreign foe."

James Madison

Obviously you've tried all the common ones so I'll give you a few less common..that seemed to work for my most picky ones.

Earth worms is a staple; but better to chop them up( one inch pieces) and put them in a ceramic dish. Maybe it's the presentation. In this case....candel light and a fine wine doesn't hurt; doesn't help either.
Try a sweet potato, microwave it for 4 minutes..let it cool but while it's still warm.use a small amount. You can reheat the unserved remainder for future meals. Beet tops slightly cooked; almost steamed. Use the microwave.

I'd had very good results with cool fresh sliced ripe slightly sweetened strawberries.

Another good one is cooked butternut or acorn squash.

This may not be your cup of tea; but for the extreme picky eater buster; use a thawed out frozen pinkie mouse.
You can by one or a dozen at Petco or various pet stores.
Afterwards go to the vegies.
Ric

I tricked my fussy eaters with the use of a blender!

Worms my boxies will never refuse, or pinkie mice. In fact, feeding these items can cause my weakest and most frightened trutles to attack my head male.

I started by chopping up the worms into wigling bits, and then I added a soupy base of organic baby foods. Squash, carrots, apples and blueberries, and several others were used. The turtles can then have their worms, but are forced to eat the fruit and vegetable mush along with it.

After a few feedings with success, I took mustard greens and other fresh veggies I had around to the blender. I chopped them semi-fine, and added these chunks to the worm mix. This time I droppen in half-hidden pinkies to entice them more.

Now, as long as I chop up their food a bit, they will take about anything I give them. It took about 7 months to get them not to be picky, but it sure pays off to see them healthy!

>>ok, for the last few months ive been trying to get my 3 toed to eat something other than the prepared food ive been feeding her. long story short, im trying to fix mistakes ive made on some bad information over the years. ive tried raspberries, several kinds of lettuce, peas, broccoli, apples, all kinds of things. ive even tried soaked milkbones, & so far the only thing ive even gotten slight reaction to is cantaloupe (her fave by far.) i cant get her to eat anything, even after sprinkling the prepared food she likes on top to try to hide the rest. im beginning to think im fighting a losing battle, & i dont like thinking im starving her. help?
>>

Chop the fruits, veggies, and greens into small pieces and mix it up. Then sprinkle it with mealworms or small earthworms or waxworms. As the turtle goes for the live food it will get some of the rest in the process. Eventually the turtle will learn.

DP

several more unsuccessful days later, still nothing. im not a patient person, by nature, if you cant tell. anyway, just an update. thanks for the advice, im still trying...

I've got a very fussy eastern. When I rescued him he was on the verge of starvation and I had a very difficult time getting him to eat anything at all. The thing that did the trick was (rinsed) water packed sardines. Once I got him eating that I gradually started mixing in other stuff. He gets them as a treat now or when he goes off his feed. Since he only eats a little at a time, I break them up into chunks and lay them out on a plate in the freezer. Once frozen, they go into a baggie for future meals. He also loves canned salmon and oysters.

Good luck